Now, I don’t play World of Warcraft (OMG TIME SINK!), but I do enjoy WoW video fun…

H to the Izzeroth.

A while ago I talked about my 3 Rules for Writing in a Time of Distraction, which I continue to employ to great effect.

Now, as I drive toward ever-encroaching deadlines during busy days filled with day jobbery, family life, and a magnitude of other distractions, the little time I have to write must be focused and not wasted. Few things are more frustrating than finally sitting down to write and not–and not because of distraction, but because you’re not ready or in the right headspace.

I ran into that wall of frustration numerous times until I figured out how to blow through it. I rarely slam against that wall now, especially when I follow my 3 simple tricks for powering through a first draft.

I’ll share them with you in hopes that they lend even a fraction of the benefits they’ve given me:

• Review and revise last 5-10 pages of draft. Simple yet effective for catapulting yourself into the headspace you need for new words. Every time I sit down to write, I go back 5-10 pages and read and revise to the point of where I’d stopped in my previous session.  Not only does it get you in the right frame of mind, including the current POVs voice, but it lends to a tighter first draft on the sentence level as you’re constantly revising and tweaking your work as you go. It also gets you ready to start dropping words the second you hit whitespace, because you now:

• End your writing session mid-sentence. This sounds like an odd thing to do, but when it comes time start writing I find it much easier to pick up where I left off if I stopped mid-sentence. If you stop at the end of a section or chapter or paragraph, a lot of the time your flow of consciousness will have been severed if you come back to that point and try to pick it up again. If you stop mid-sentence, I find it much easier to launch back into that stream, especially if you’ve already reviewed and revised the previous 5-10 pages of draft. Try it,  you may like it.

• Stew, think, plot, obsess. When I’m not actively writing, I’m thinking about writing. It sounds obvious, and it is, but it’s the quality of thinking that counts. I especially find monotonous actions work well in mentally transporting me back into my work-in-progress. Things like washing the dishes, mowing the lawn, driving to and from the day jobbe, and of course–one of my all-time favorites–taking a long, hot shower. Like a pro golfer envisions his next shot, or a football QB thinks about executing the next play before it happens, I plot out the next chapter, the next section, character interactions, worldbuilding, whatever I’m about to tackle in my next writing session. That way, when I’ve reviewed and revised the last 5-10 pages, and I’ve ended my writing session mid-sentence, when I hit that whitespace my writing engine is firing on all cylinders–and BOOM, down go the words.

Some of these may seem obvious, others may not. They may work for you, they may not.

But these 3 simple tricks help me power through first drafts. Maybe they’ll help you too.

I *beep* the spiders on the wall, I *beep* the cobwebs in the hall.

I *beep* the candles on the shelf.

When I’m alone I *beep* myself.

I could *beep* forever; I could *beep* until I drop.

It’s been a hectic week–hence the lack of posts–but here’s a World Cup-themed Friday Funny.

Vuvuzelas, attack!

Lets hear it for New Hope!

For some reason I find it impossible to post a con report anywhere within a week of returning from one. Odd.

Anyways, this was my first time to WisCon. I’d heard SO MANY GOOD THINGS about this convention I figured I had to go. The fact that so many friends and super cool people were going had nothing to do with me attending. Seriously. Ha.

And wow, what a fantastic time this convention turned out to be. Besides the fact that I was on 5–yes, 5!–panels, which kept me moving and shaking for 2 of the 5 days, the entire long weekend was a blur. The panels I was on ran the gamut from The Craft of Writing YA (which was fun except for the rather large amount of topic drift) to Your Writing Process is Ridiculous (which was, in fact, a rather ridiculous panel).

My favourite panel was Lets Build a World, which I got to play as a god with Benjamin Rosenbaum, Yoon Ha Lee, and David Levine. We created the Planet of Lolcats! Yes, it really is that silly, which was presented in the form of a musical called I Can Haz Musical, The Musical! This panel was a seriously crazy amount of fun and I hope I get to play in that sandbox again in a subsequent year. You can check out details on the Planet of Lolcats over here: Wiscon Panel Notes: Build a World.

Besides the panels, it was great to see old friends as always…as well as meet some new people I’ve only known via the interwebs. Now, according to the pics I posted (and others), it looks like there was a lot of drinking going on. Well, we’re writers. There was. I cannot tell a lie. But there were also a lot of super fun parties and dinner outings as well–including one fun night at a cool little Tibetan restaurant. That’s one thing that impressed me about Madison. The restaurants! They were good, tasty, and cheap. I mean cheap unless you order $100 of sushi like Sara McClung and I did–between THE TWO OF US. Yeah, nothing quite like getting a sushi boat for two. Remember this kids: don’t drink on an empty stomach and then order food. Things can get crazy!

See, now things got a little silly during one of the parties. It seems that Sara and Amber van Dyk think I do this thing called “The Chin” in photos. Where I tilt my head down slightly at an angle and vogue or pose or whatever. In fact, they think it’s so funny they started mimicking me throughout the evening (ha ha ha!). I’m sure alcohol did not influence them into this obviously futile pursuit. But did they tire of it? Did they stop? No. Not until they passed out. Oh yes, it was a marvelous evening of them doing “The Chin” and me denying it.

Here’s Sara, thinking she’s all that–doing “The Chin”.

Pretty funny, eh? Yeah, I think so. Especially since I don’t do that. (Okay, maybe a little, but that’s it!)

I shot a quick little video at one of the parties to illustrate that I do not, in fact, do “The Chin.” Sara and Amber do their very best to try–key word being try–and make fun of me and my “posing”.

So… take a look.

Do I really do “The Chin” or did they consume way too much alcohol and raw, mercury-laced fish over the weekend?

I have to say, WisCon was a total blast and I will definitely be keeping this con on my radar for next year. In fact, maybe I will go register now…

Pure. Gold.

That is all.

Finally a new Deus Ex game–and OMG does it look gorgeous or what?

My Xbox 360 has been collecting dust since February (yeah, I know–I’ve been busy). But I would totally dust it off for this game. That and Bioshock 2, which I still have to pick up.

Anyways, if you love Blade Runner, cyberpunk, neon, dystopian realities melding with transhumanist possibility, then buckle-up for this.

I wants.

Sleeping Sickness by City and Colour

I awoke only to find my lungs empty,
and through the night so it seems i’m done breathing,
and now my dreams are nothing like they were meant to be,
and i’m breaking down,
I think i’m breaking down.

And i’m afraid to sleep because of what haunts me,
such as living with the uncertainty,
that i’ll never find the words to say which would completely explain,
just how i’m breaking down.

Someone come and,
someone come and save my life.
Maybe i’ll sleep when I am dead,
but now it’s like the night is taking sides.
And all the worries that occupy the back of my mind,
could it be this misery will suffice?

I’ve become the simple souvenir of someone’s kill,
and like the sea i’m constantly changing from calm to ill,
madness fills my heart and soul,
as if the great divide could swallow me whole,
oh how i’m breaking down.

Someone come and,
someone come and save my life.
Maybe i’ll sleep when I am dead,
but now it’s like the night is taking sides.
And all the worries that occupy the back of my mind,
could it be this misery will suffice?

Oh we’re alive.

Someone come and,
someone come and save my life.
Someone come and,
someone come and save my life.
Someone come and,
someone come and save my life.

Could it be this misery will suffice?